Colliers Promotes CK Lau to Replace Nigel Smith as Hong Kong Head

Property services firm Colliers on Monday announced the promotion of CK Lau to managing director for Hong Kong, effective immediately.

Reporting to Sam Harvey-Jones, chief operating officer for Asia Pacific, Lau will be responsible for leading the growth of Colliers in Hong Kong, the agency said in a release. The longtime JLL executive joined Colliers in 2019 to head the Asia valuation and advisory services business, and he will maintain that role in his new position.

Lau succeeds Nigel Smith, who will continue to serve Colliers as senior consultant after returning from a leave of absence he took for personal reasons, a company representative told Mingtiandi. An internal notice distributed to Colliers staff and seen by Mingtiandi indicated that the leave is health-related.

“I am thrilled to have an enterprising executive of CK’s calibre accelerate the success of our Hong Kong business as we deliver on our Enterprise ’25 Growth Strategy,” Harvey-Jones said. “I am confident that with CK’s industry experience, network and vast knowledge of the Hong Kong property market we will be able to grow the business, attract market-leading talent to Colliers and lead our industry into the future.”

Former JLL Hand

The internal Colliers notice announcing the leadership change credited Lau with having “significantly grown the Valuations & Advisory Service across Asia to a marketing-leading position” since joining the company two and a half years ago.

Before jumping ship for Colliers, Lau spent more than 30 years at rival JLL, where he led the agency’s valuation advisory services for Asia and Greater China. He was JLL’s executive director for Hong Kong for two years before his hiring as Colliers’ managing director for Asia valuation and advisory services to replace David Faulkner, who now serves as president for Asia Pacific at the Urban Land Institute.

A graduate of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Lau is a past president of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, current chairman of the Land Policy Panel of the HKIS and a member of the institute’s General Practice Divisional Council.

To help carry out Toronto-based Colliers’ strategy to double profitability by 2025, Lau will draw on his expertise in development consultancy, investment and development site sales, portfolio valuations, REIT property advice, rental determination and valuation due diligence.

“I am excited to have this opportunity to lead Colliers in Hong Kong and accelerate the success of our clients and our people,” Lau said. “I look forward to working with other leaders in Hong Kong and across the Asia Pacific region to drive significant growth for our business and deliver exceptional results for our clients.”

Smith’s Shift

Veteran broker and future consultant Smith joined Colliers in 2015 as managing director for Hong Kong after 13 years at CBRE, where he managed that agency’s office leasing services for Asia. The UK native also spent 12 years in Hong Kong with Jones Lang LaSalle and its predecessor, Jones Lang Wootton.

By accepting the job at Colliers, Smith took over the position formerly filled by Richard Kirke, who had moved on to CBRE to run its capital markets team for Asia Pacific.

Smith has represented over 100 Grade A office towers and gained recognition as a specialist in the design, branding, marketing and leasing of tall buildings such as Taipei 101, International Finance Centre and International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong, and China World Tower in Beijing, according to Colliers.

The South Bank Polytechnic grad has also provided integrated real estate solutions for clients such as Rose Rock Tianjin, Ping An IFC Shenzhen, The Genesis Beijing and Silverstein in Qianhai.